Ackman's Card Network Bet Pits Him Against Berkshire's Abel
Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel surprised investors by selling off significant stakes in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), two companies that were among Warren Buffett's favorites. The sales totaled $4.19 billion, with Abel exiting both companies completely.
Ackman's Pershing Square USA (NYSE:PSUS) investment portfolio, now publicly traded as ticker PSUS, added six new stock picks, including Visa and Mastercard. Ackman highlighted the card networks as 'two business we long admired' in the Pershing Square quarterly letter.
Ackman sees upside in the stocks as they trade at 23x (Visa) and 24x (Mastercard) forward earnings estimates and should have double-digit revenue growth in the coming years. Ackman's new stakes in Visa and Mastercard may give him an early advantage over Abel.